Merry Christmas Eve's eve
by canny-bairn
Summary: All parents want to be with their kids at Christmas, even if it meant driving through a dangerous blizzard. CCOAC Christmas challenge. Written for Dakota1013!


**Disclaimer – I own nothing relating to Criminal Minds (although I hope to be getting the DVDs off of Santa this year!)**

**My prompts for this year's Christmas challenge over on CCOAC were;**

**JJ/Hotch**

**Fireplace, blizzard, mistletoe and Please come home for Christmas.**

**Dakota1013 I hope you like it! (sorry for the mix-up was reading the wrong email :S)**

**Let me know what you think.**

...

JJ glanced out of the corner of her eye at the pensive driver sitting next to her in the standard Government issues Black SUV. They'd been driving for the last two hours in dire conditions, causing the usually stoic Unit Chief to be even more tense than usual.

The radio was crackling in the background of her thoughts, the heavy snow causing the radio to sporadically turn to static noise, while Charles Brown soulfully sung 'Please Come Home For Christmas.'

Unconsciously, JJ hummed along as Hotch gripped the steering wheel tightly, whitening his knuckles as the icy road caused little friction for the car.

"_Sure as the stars shine above, this is Christmas, yeah Christmas my dear_..." The younger profiler sung in a mutter under her breath.

Catching the subtle glare being directed her way from the driver, JJ blushed and quickly turned off the radio to allow him to concentrate on the treacherous road. "Sorry."

Hotch shook his head slowly. "Don't apologise JJ, I just want to get home."

"I know, I do too but," she replied with a sigh while squinting at the undecipherable surroundings out of the passenger window, "maybe we should pull over and try and find somewhere to stay for the night?"

The supervisor shook his head assertively. "No, I know the Interstate is just along this road somewhere, once we're on it, there're only a few miles to the airport."

"Do you really think they haven't grounded flights in this weather?" JJ asked in disbelief at his naivety, knowing that they'd been lost for the better half of forty minutes.

He huffed in frustration. "It's Christmas Eve tomorrow."

"I know." She nodded softly.

Hotch set his jaw and groaned. "I promised Jack I'd be home for Christmas and I'm betting you promised the same thing to Henry."

"We'll get home for Christmas Aaron, but is it really necessary to risk our lives in this blizzard only to get to the airport where we'll no doubt be stuck at until tomorrow anyway?" JJ asked with a raised eye, keeping her voice purposefully gentle not to aggravate her colleague's obviously sour mood.

"I just want..." His reply was interrupted as the car swerved into the opposite lane by a stretch of black ice.

They struggled to remain seated as the Unit Chief lost control of the Government issued vehicle in the treacherous weather and road conditions.

Luckily the road was empty both ways as Hotch finally managed to stop the car in a ditch in the hard shoulder as he gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles. Shakily, the profiler put on the handbrake then switching the engine off before reaching his hand out to clutch JJ's knee to make sure she was okay. "Are you hurt?"

"No, you?" She asked breathlessly while tugging the restrictive seatbelt away from her chest as she tried to regain some composure.

"I'm fine." Hotch squeezed her knee tightly under his hand and while resting his head against the steering wheel. "I'm sorry."

JJ managed to break loose of the seat belt and ran a hand across Hotch's back soothingly. "What for?"

"For driving around in a fucking blizzard and nearly killing us both." He retorted harshly.

Dropping her hand off his back onto his hand that was still covering her knee, the younger profiler giggled inappropriately. "We're still alive aren't we?"

"JJ." He growled in warning at her sudden and out-of-place laughter.

"Sorry I just had a shock." She reasoned with a smirk but the look of guilt on his face sobered the giddy blonde. "Hey, don't be so hard on yourself, we're both okay."

Hotch inhaled slowly before returning his hand to the steering wheel. His heart was still banging away in his chest as he turned the key to turn the engine back on. The car made a gravelly, painful noise unable to kick back into life. Hotch's shocked pale face suddenly burnt in self anger. "It's dead."

JJ eyed her supervisor, sensing that the older man was close to a break down she swallowed her sarcastic retort of 'no kidding Mr Obvious' and smiled encouragingly. "I think we passed a motel five minutes or so ago. It shouldn't be that far to walk."

Resignedly, the Unit Chief nodded. "I'll call a pick up."

"No-one will be available at this time of night, besides you won't have signal, not in this weather." JJ held up her cell phone that she had been clutching in her hand since their entered the car from their departure at the prison they had been questioning a serial killer.

Almost begrudgingly Hotch followed JJ's lead knowing they couldn't last the night in the already cold car and planned the route to the motel they had seen not long before the car accident.

Silently, the pair of agents wrapped themselves in their winter gear that had been tossed into the back seat before their long journey had begun before they braved the blizzard that had plagued their drive to the airport.

Carrying their own respective go bags, the two agents rarely talked as they made their way to the motel in the two foot deep snow only half a mile back in the direction they had just come from.

Not long into their perilous walk in the slightly below freezing temperatures, Hotch had grabbed his colleagues' hand to support her in the uneven depths of snow along the deserted road as well as keeping her close so they didn't get separated in the disorientating snowfall.

Thinking they could have gone passed the generic motel, Hotch exhaled a breath of relief as they turned into the snow covered car park. There were dozens of snow covered cars and trucks occupying the space in front of the inconspicuous building which seemingly was the place to stay for the night.

Hotch still had a tight hold of JJ's gloved hand as they entered the motel reception nearly an hour after leaving their broken down SUV.

He reluctantly let go of her hand to brush the snow off of her shoulders and hat, as his own teeth chattered uncontrollably. "I'll go and get us a room each."

A nearly blue JJ nodded gratefully as she dropped her go bag onto the floor. "Thanks."

Hotch shivered as he dropped his own bag and began to remove his winter clothing while moving over to the grim faced receptionist. "Evening."

"I'm sorry darling, before you ask, all the rooms are booked and the dining room is packed out." The rosy cheeked brunette fifty-something sighed dramatically.

"All we need is to sit somewhere warm." Hotch pleaded with the woman as his fingertips ached as they warmed.

The woman with the name tag 'Lorna' stood unceremoniously and leaned over the desk to glance through the two double doors to the receptions right. "The lobby doesn't seem too busy at the moment. We have a fire going in there."

"Thank you so much." Hotch glanced back to JJ who was shaking the snow out of her damp hair. "How much do we owe you?"

"Just pay for the facilities you use. We've got the kitchen open all night and the bathrooms are through those doors," She pointed to her left quickly. "It seems everyone trying to find the interstate is stuck here tonight."

"Yeah, that's where we were heading." Hotch took the piece of paper detailing the bill they had to pay in the morning.

"You should get there tomorrow." Lorna smiled reassuringly. "Why don't you and your wife go and get dried up and sit by the fire. I'll bring some warm drinks in for you in a little while."

"Thank you so much." Hotch smiled gratefully, not bothering to correct the bubbly woman about his true relationship with the blonde woman.

JJ edged closer to the older profiler as he returned to her side. "Well?"

"How do you feel about sitting up all night in the lobby?" He asked with a grimace lacing his lips.

The younger profiler raised an inquisitive eye. "Is it warm?"

"There's a fire." Hotch insured with a nod.

She smiled warmly. "Then that's fine by me."

"The bathrooms are through there if you want to get out of those damp clothes." He blushed suddenly as his realised his eyes were roaming over her tight sweater that seemed to accentuate her generous curves.

JJ met his wandering gaze with a smirk. "Great. I'll meet you in the lobby."

Ten minutes later, JJ stared at her reflection in the motel's guest bathroom after she changed into the FBI hoody and jeans she had stored away in her go bag. The frozen agent took in the sight of her rosy cheeks and chapped lips. Her hair felt like straw under her dry, cold hands as she attempted to rectify the damage done by the heavy snow and woollen hat she had wore on the walk.

The bathroom was empty of any other guests as she mumbled to herself about wanting to look decent before returning to her supervisor.

"I just don't want him to feel guilty." JJ mumbled as she repacked her travel bag but her stomach dropped slightly as she wondered if there were any underlying reasons for her incessant glance in the mirror, checking her appearance was presentable enough to face her tired colleague.

Exiting the bathroom, JJ had to push through a coach full of people who were bargaining with the exhausted receptionist for rooms. As the blonde profiler entered the lobby, she paused in observation to find Hotch sitting on the couch at the far end of the room, staring into the fire resting his long legs in front of him.

Snapping out of her daze, JJ wandered over to the couch and sat down besides her friend and often confident. "So, how are you feeling now?"

Hotch smiled warmly as JJ nudged his arm as she sat down next to him, thigh to thigh. "I'm sorry for being such an ass."

"What's going on with you?" She queried out loud. "You're not normally this quiet."

"Are you worried about me?" He asked with a smirk.

JJ met his eyes in concern. "Always."

Hotch groaned in dislike of the serious mood that had overtaken their conversation. "I hate being away from Jack at this time of year. It's bad enough Haley isn't here..."

"I feel the same way. Ever since the divorce and Will taking that job in New Orleans, I'm a single mom and it's tough. I don't think I'll be winning any parental awards but we're not bad parents because we have to work so close to Christmas." She consoled weakly.

Hotch cleared his throat as JJ's hand rested on top of his in comfort. "What if we don't get back in enough time?"

"We will." She replied surely.

"But..."

"Let's not worry yet." JJ shook her head urgently. "I can't think about disappointing our kids right now. We'll get home for Christmas."

"Will you stop being so optimistic and nice to me." He retorted harshly removing his hand abruptly from under her hold.

With the sudden movement, JJ's hand fell onto his thigh with a small slap. "Aaron, tell me what's really wrong?"

As she gripped his thigh tighter, Hotch sighed shakily before shifting slightly on the couch so he was turned more towards her. Without fault, Hotch brought his hand up to JJ's cheek, cupping it gently in his palm before he brought his lips to hers.

Their kiss deepened, warming their tired hearts as the log fire crackled and heating their cold bodies. Reluctantly pulling away, JJ moved her free hand to cover his which was still against her cheek and looked up to the ceiling.

Hotch chuckled lowly as her eyes wandered around the homey lobby. "What are you looking for?"

JJ's eyes snapped back to his upon hearing his gentle question. "Mistletoe."

"I don't need mistletoe to kiss you, JJ." He stated softly.

The younger profiler's face scrunched in confusion. "You don't?"

"No... I've been wanting to kiss you a lot lately." Hotch admitted hesitantly.

"Really?" She gasped quietly at his confession.

"Merry Christmas, JJ." Hotch said lovingly before closing the gap between them once more and kissed her like she had never been kissed before.

JJ grinned happily against his lips. "Happy Christmas Eve's eve, Aaron."

They sat in the lobby the rest of the night, lost in each other's embrace in front of the fireplace, hopeful that they would get home in time to spend Christmas together, with their two young boys.

**...**

**Merry Christmas!**


End file.
